Ray Lewis: 'No Comparison' Between Me and Ray Rice

8 Sep 2014

Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker and current ESPN analyst Ray Lewis said he was “disappointed” in former teammate Ray Rice, and that there was “no comparison” between his off-field conduct and Rice’s on “Monday Night Countdown” on ESPN.

“I’m disappointed…because this is a guy, a young man that I really took up under my wing and tried to mentor to make sure that he had a successful career and stayed away from things like this, but seeing this video, let me be very clear, with going through this myself personally, a man should never, ever put his hands on a woman, bottom line.” Lewis stated. He added that the Rice incident was “personal” to him because his mother was a victim of domestic violence.

Lewis said “there is no comparison. This is nothing about me…there is no comparison of me and Ray Rice. It’s night and day, it’s night and day of anything we have ever been through, and that’s why both situations are totally different” when asked whether it is hypocritical of the Ravens to cut ties with Rice after standing by him when he was involved in a murder case in 2000. Back then, Lewis was charged with murder and aggravated assault, charges that were later dropped in exchange for Lewis pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and testifying against two of his companions, both of whom were later acquitted.